Randy Couture clarifies: “Resignation, not retirement.”

As we all know, the UFC has been putting a spin on the Randy Couture situation as if he is retiring from the sport of mixed martial arts. Couture wants everyone to know the real story:

“It’s not a retirement,” said Couture Friday, who also works as on-air analyst and ambassador for The Fight Network. “It’s a resignation from the UFC organization.”

I think we all knew this was the case, but this truly does make it sound like Randy plans on fighting again. In recent comments, Dana White was asked about the validity of rumors that Couture’s contract was up in nine months. White claimed those rumors to be completely false. It will be interesting to see how Randy’s contract situation plays out because it’s clearly obvious he has his sights set on one opponent: Fedor Emelianenko.

While I am totally disappointed how all this has played out I do still want to see Randy fight Fedor. Hopefully Randy doesn’t have to sit out all of 2008 before he can fight again. Because who knows where we might be in the MMA world if he does have to sit out til 2009 before he gets a chance to fight Fedor.

Though I’m a big Couture fan, I still take Fedor to win a bout against The Natural. Outside of the UFC Cage, outside of American soil, Couture will be even more outside of his world, and inside Fedor’s. Keep in mind Randy hasn’t fought outside of the UFC octagon in over six years. I speculate Randy will not return to fighting and will ultimately retire officially. While he is likely confident in facing Fedor, going out with a big loss might scare him enough despite a big pay day. I don’t like to say it, but I think Fedor-Barnett is as close as we are going to get regarding “huge” match ups. I’m not saying Couture will “cop-out” in the end, but I think he may have just had his fill of professional fighting. Perhaps the MMA world should let go of the Couture legacy for now and embrace the future legends of the sport, as I’m sure there will be many. Remember, Mixed Martial Arts will go on with or without Randy Couture.